Is it hackable?
Screw the dirty pictures. If I can use the front page as an extra monitor, I want a copy.
Sony wants everyone to ditch paperbacks in favour of its Reader electronic book, but man-mag Esquire is keeping the printed world alive with an e-ink magazine. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com The 75th anniversary issue of the US edition of Esquire features a small e-ink display on the front cover …
Its just a variation on a flashing LED/LCD theme .. now if the text was actually built up using pixels of ink, not prefined shapes, then that would be more interesting and reusable (reflash the PIC etc). As it stands its just like a flashing T-Shirt. Fun but pointless not really high-tech.
I'd buy a copy if it were in the UK though .. if only to resell it on eBay in ten years 8-)
I quite like the way they've done this - they've clearly used a (relatively) cheap monochromatic e-ink display and overprinted it (or possibly underprinted it) with a colour picture. The result is that it looks like a colour display, but it's not.
Notice that the colour parts (the photos on the front and the car on the inside ad) don't move - they just flash as the display moves from dark to light. The grey text appears and disappears, but the colour parts stay.
Still, as I say, it's a nice use of the technique. But I have to agree with some of the above comments: permanent publishing has definite advantages over electronic. I can't imagine much worse a fate than books and magazines becoming as full of popups and flashing ads as the Internet. At least on the net we have NoScript and AdBlock!